As we approach its 100-year anniversary this July, the cultural salience of the “Scopes Trial” endures.

A misdemeanor legal case that was purposely staged into a contentious drama became a blazing emblem for America’s power struggle between individual freedoms and majority opinion. 

“Even when I walk into a high school biology class, most students have heard of the ‘Scopes Trial,’ and they all have their own ideas on why it’s still important today,” said Edward Larson, University Professor of history, Hugh and Hazel Darling Chair in Law at Pepperdine University and expert on the case. “I am convinced it’s the best-known trial in American history.”

Larson will discuss the trial’s enduring legacy at the U of A as part of the Palmer Hotz Endowed Lecture Series in the History of Science, hosted by the Honors College and the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences at 5:15 p.m. Thursday, March 6, in the Gearhart Auditorium (GEAR 26). 

“Join Fulbright College, the Honors College and the Hotz family for an evening with a true master of interdisciplinary research,” said Lynda Coon, dean of the Honors College. “From the history of science and law to religion and the cultural spectacle of the courtroom, Ed Larson will bring the ‘Scopes Trial’ to life and illuminate its enduring relevance.”

The “Scopes Trial,” officially titled The State of Tennessee v. John Thomas Scopes, was a 1925 legal case that captured national attention. It began when a high school teacher, John Scopes, was accused of violating Tennessee’s Butler Act, which prohibited teaching about human evolution in public schools.

What started as a test case quickly escalated into a cultural spectacle, pitting two titans of American thought—Clarence Darrow for the defense and William Jennings Bryan for the prosecution—against each other, according to the University of Tennessee Knoxville collection “Of Monkeys and Men: Public and Private Views from the Scopes Trial.”

Larson examined the famous “Monkey Trial” using the University of Tennessee Knoxville collection for his book Summer for the Gods: The Scopes Trial and America's Continuing Debate Over Science and Religion (Basic Books, 1997), which won the Pulitzer Prize in 1998.  

The idea to write a book came from a colleague who suggested that Larson’s unique academic background made him the perfect candidate. Larson holds a J.D. from Harvard Law School, a Ph.D. in the history of science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and has conducted research into the history of religion. This distinctive combination allowed him to analyze the sensational public event in a way that hadn’t been done before.

Surprisingly, Larson discovered no historian had fully tapped the wealth of archival material available on the “Scopes Trial.” While the trial had long been embedded in American cultural memory, previous historians had relied primarily on media coverage to recount the spectacle. Due to its national prominence, however, many participants, lawyers and observers had preserved materials from the trial or donated them to the University of Tennessee archives.

“When I visited the archives, even the staff told me no one had looked at it,” Larson said.

As he began his research, Larson was struck by how massive the event had been. Its far-reaching cultural impact was reflected not only in its evolution into pop culture but also in the sheer volume of archival material. Larson spent countless hours in library basements sifting through stacks of local newspapers.

“It filled a room,” he said. “It was shocking to see how huge the cultural phenomenon was. Everyone in America was focused on that trial for a week.”

His research didn’t stop in the basement archives. During his travel to Tennessee, Larson was fortunate to meet people who had either witnessed the trial firsthand or had relatives who did. Remarkably, many of these individuals still lived in the same towns and had saved memorabilia—items carefully tucked away in shoeboxes or passed down through generations, treasured as pieces of history. For Larson, these conversations were as rewarding as they were informative, making the process of writing the book a deeply engaging task.

“Many families loved that someone cared to learn about it,” Larson said.

Larson’s research even brought him to the U of A, where he interviewed Willard Badgett Gatewood Jr., a history professor and later chancellor. Larson credits Gatewood, whom he describes as “one of the great historians of popular science and religion in America,” for shaping his understanding of trends in the history of religion that informed Summer for the Gods.

Larson attributes the book’s status as a cornerstone of knowledge about the case not only to his extensive research and fortunate timing but also to his impartial perspective.

“I wasn’t on either side,” he said. “I approached it academically, as a major event in American cultural history—one that inspired movies, Broadway plays, and continues to be cited in textbooks. But the central question I had while writing the book was, ‘Why do people care?’”

The reception of Larson’s book highlights the effectiveness of his balanced approach. When Summer for the Gods was first published, it was embraced by both the ACLU of Tennessee and Bryan College—a fundamentalist institution founded in the trial’s aftermath—as a resource for their respective supporters.

“A legal case divides people,” Larson said. “Each side is focused on telling their version of the story. No one is trying to tell the whole story. Darrow and Bryan were both remarkable at what they did, but they were polarizing figures on the issue at the time.”

In many ways, Larson believes his specialization in the history of science gave him unique insight into the trial’s enduring relevance, enabling him to examine shifting mindsets and cultural trends over time.

“Believe me—when I wrote this, I did not have the 100th anniversary in mind,” Larson said with a laugh.

By looking beyond legal briefs and court rulings, his research uncovers the trial’s most human elements—the very foundation of its lasting significance.

ABOUT ED LARSON

Larson holds the Hugh and Hazel Darling Chair in Law and is a University Professor of history at Pepperdine University. Originally from Ohio with a Ph.D. in the history of science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and law degree from Harvard, Larson has lectured on all seven continents in a single calendar year and taught at Yale Law School, Stanford Law School, University of Melbourne, Leiden University and the University of Georgia, where he chaired the History Department. Prior to becoming a professor, Larson practiced law in Seattle and served as counsel for the U.S House of Representatives in Washington, D.C. He received an honorary doctorate in humane letters from The Ohio State University but still roots for the University of Wisconsin in football.

Recipient of the Pulitzer Prize in History and numerous other awards for writing and teaching, Larson is the author or co-author of 14 books and over 100 published articles. His book The Return of George Washington: Uniting the States, 1783-1789 (Mariner Books, 2015) was a New York Times Bestseller and resulted in Larson being invited to deliver the 2016 Supreme Court Historical Society lecture in Washington, give the annual Gaines Lecture at Mount Vernon and serve as a featured presenter for the Library of Congress' Madison Council event. His other books, which have been translated into over 20 languages, include An Empire of Ice: Scott Shackleton, and the Heroic Age of Antarctic Science (Yale University Press, 2011); A Magnificent Catastrophe: The Tumultuous Election of 1800, America's First Presidential Campaign (Free Press, 2008); and the Pulitzer Prize-winning Summer for the Gods: The Scopes Trial and America's Continuing Debate Over Science and Religion. Larson's articles have appeared in such varied publications as Nature, Atlantic Monthly, Science, Scientific American, Time, The Wall Street Journal, American History, The Guardian and dozens of law reviews. His latest book, American Inheritance, was published by W.W. Norton in 2023.

About the Palmer Hotz Endowed Lecture Series in the History of Science: The family of Dr. Palmer Hotz Ph.D. endowed the series to honor his memory and his dedication to the teaching and practice of science. The history of scientific thought and discoveries was one of Palmer Hotz’s lifelong interests, as was his and his family’s dedication to learning at the University of Arkansas. It is the expressed hope that this lecture series will contribute to the continuation of these interests and foster interdisciplinary dialog and scholarship at his alma mater.

About the Honors College: The University of Arkansas Honors College was established in 2002 and brings together high-achieving undergraduate students and the university’s top professors to share transformative learning experiences. Each year the Honors College awards up to 90 freshman fellowships that provide $80,000 over four years, and more than $1 million in undergraduate research and study abroad grants. The Honors College is nationally recognized for the high caliber of students it admits and graduates. Honors students enjoy small, in-depth classes, and programs are offered in all disciplines, tailored to students’ academic interests, with interdisciplinary collaborations encouraged. All Honors College graduates have engaged in mentored research. 

About the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences: The Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences is the largest and most academically diverse unit at the University of Arkansas with three schools, 16 departments and numerous academic programs and research centers. The college provides the majority of the core curriculum for all U of A students. Get the inside scoop on all things Fulbright College by subscribing to the digital Fulbright REVIEW publication.

About the University of Arkansas: As Arkansas' flagship institution, the U of A provides an internationally competitive education in more than 200 academic programs. Founded in 1871, the U of A contributes more than $3 billion to Arkansas’ economy through the teaching of new knowledge and skills, entrepreneurship and job development, discovery through research and creative activity while also providing training for professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the U of A among the few U.S. colleges and universities with the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the U of A among the top public universities in the nation. See how the U of A works to build a better world at Arkansas Research and Economic Development News.